There hasn’t been real disruptive change in accounting for more than 150 years, but digital transformation promises to put an end to the drought.
The storied history of accounting has undergone three disruptive innovations. From its invention in ancient Mesopotamia more than 7,000 years ago to the debut of double-entry accounting in the Middle Ages, the interval between disruptions clocked in at a mind-boggling eight millennia.
The next innovation, chartered accountancy, arrived a mere 800 years or so later, in Victorian Scotland in the mid-19th century. And then? Well, nothing really, with only the promotion of accounting to a profession marking its progress.
Perhaps it’s time for accounting to take its next big leap. Today’s computing is certainly part of the story, as is the world of modern finance. But in the end, today it’s still about bean-counting: as always, the focus is on getting the numbers right.
The big question, therefore, is whether there is a disruption on the horizon that can shift accounting from a mere numbers game to a position of strategic value for the organization.
The answer is yes. Of course, given the centuries-long plodding pace of innovation in accounting, one might ask why now? What is it about the current business and technology landscape that promises to bring new disruption to accounting?
Read the entire article at https://www.cfo.com/accounting-accounting-tax/2019/12/digital-rework-brings-overdue-innovation-to-accounting/.
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